Bathroom
put a tiled footrest on the shower wall. Fantastic for shaving the legs or washing the feet. Will definitely do it again in the house I am building now put a power outlet in the bathroom cabinet for the electric toothbrushes, would have been so easy at the time of renovation a hideaway rubbish bin, and a vanity with enough flat space to put your toilet bag or makeup etc (all these fancy double basin vanities out there but nowhere to put anything!
Ensure you fit a waste and hair trap Little and often is a good mantra to follow when it comes to cleaning, and a small preventative measure, such as a waste trap, can be a big help in cutting down on future housework. “Always make sure you have a waste with a hair trap in both your basin and shower,” says Rezende. “You can then frequently remove it and quickly clean it to avoid hair clogging up waste pipes and prevent it from becoming an issue.”
Choosing a single tile shape and colour for both walls and floors will give your bathroom a luxurious feel, plus it will reduce wastage and cost. Use the same tile in all the wet areas of your home and you may get a bulk discount, saving you even more. Tip: Natural stone, ceramic and porcelain are the main tile materials. Ceramic tiles will give you the same look as expensive stone, but are far cheaper to buy and lay
FIXED SKYLIGHTS A fixed skylight is, well, fixed –there’s no opening or closing. It may be a prefabricated unit set into the roof, however in contemporary architecture, a fixed skylight is generally a glass element integrated within the structure of the house. Fixed skylights do not allow for ventilation but are ideally used to let light filter into otherwise dark spaces.As skylights will increase solar heating in a space or room without allowing for air circulation, ensure there are other ways to ventilate the room. Direction of sunlight The placement of the skylight will diffuse sunlight in a particular direction, so consider the function of the room and the space being lit.
Under-mount basin An under-mount basin is one that sits underneath the benchtop. The rim of the sink is fixed to the underside of the benchtop, as opposed to sitting on top of it. Pros: This creates a very seamless, clean look, as less of the actual basin is visible. Another advantage is that water and spills can be wiped directly from the benchtop into the sink without any obstruction, making it a great, easy-to-clean addition to family bathrooms. Cons: Under-mounting a basin will usually only be possible under a solid surface benchtop such as stone, and isn’t suitable with a laminate benchtop, as it can’t be sealed as well against moisture. They also tend to cost more than top-mount basins.
Adjustable-height shelves: Giving extra containers of cleaning products and tools their own dedicated shelves (separate from your everyday cleaning supplies) will help reduce clutter under the sink, and make it easier to find what you need. Make the most of cabinet space with adjustable shelving that you can tailor to fit tall bottles and short stacks of cleaning necessities
Choosing a groutless surface, such as polished concrete, makes mopping a cinch I also wanted polished concrete floors throughout my new house including the wet areas but my builder said the same thing about the waterproofing (cannot be adequately water proofed) and also the slip factor was a concern. A super-easy-to-clean area was my main aim when designing our bathroom and I opted for a no glass wet-room with floor to ceiling tiles. I sealed the grout on the wall tiles with car wax before ever using water in there. Seven years later have still not had to clean the grout. I would have liked to do the floor the same way, but was concerned it might have made it slippery. We (yes,well-trained hubby) just use the rubber window squidgee thing on wall and floor after showers followed up with a quick dry for the wall and chrome fittings with a macrofibre cloth. It takes less than a minute after each shower and keeps the room looking fresh. Too easy!
Lose the cubicle Enclosed shower screens are great at keeping water contained (a pet hate is totally open bathrooms that remain eternally wet from one end to the other), but the traditional shower frame is also freakishly good at attracting mould and gunk in all those corners and crevices. The glass panes themselves are also a pain to keep clean. In time, they can develop glass rot which leaves them permanently foggy and streaked. A small, non-enclosed shower screen is not only easier to clean, but less expensive to replace down the track.
How to create the illusion of a larger interior is not only about the horizontal plane – verticality can be paramount in making a space feel bigger than it is. Take this contemporary green and white bathroom for example. We’ve all seen bigger and smaller iterations, but there’s no question that the arched skylight visually amplifies the size of the room. Skylights can be designed in almost any shape and size you want, and both fixed and operable types are wonderful tools for enhancing the semblance of space.
Everyone wants a cut-out niche in the shower for shampoo, etc. And usually they’re placed in the center of the shower with a pretty, coordinating tile that looks nice – until you fill them up with shampoo bottles. Then they just look junky. If you have a solid wall (or half wall) instead of all glass doors, put your niches IN THE WALL so that they’re not visible from the rest of the bathroom.
Measuring incorrectly Inaccurate measurements can end up being very costly when you need to work multiple different elements into your layout. It’s a common mistake not to take account of the little things, such as the way a door will swing or the gap between the toilet and the vanity. Solution: Always measure twice before you select fittings and fixtures for your bathroom to make sure they’ll fit. Think how doors and drawers will open and how you will move through the space. Your builder, plumber or project manager should also be able to help you with this process.
Limiting storage to the vanity unit Rookie renovators often don’t consider storage options beyond vanity drawers and cabinets. This often means the vanity ends up too clunky and dominating. As a result, the bathroom feels small and crowded. Solution: Think of alternative ways to house bathing products, toiletries and toilet paper. Can you work some custom joinery into the floor plan to store larger items? What about vertical, wall-hung cabinets? You can also use these to incorporate mirrors, lighting and towel rails, saving even more space in the bathroom and giving it a more purposeful feel.
Mirror cupboards above vanities should be the same width as the vanity or slightly smaller – never larger. Recessing a mirror cupboard into the wall will give your bathroom a more streamlined look. Bathroom mirrors should have lights at the side, at eye level, NOT overhead, or there will be very unflattering shadows.
Three-niche focal point Material: The tile in the niches is ‘Bianco’ Carrara brick tile. The niche surround is edged in ‘Hampton’ Carrara polished marble pencil tile. The niches themselves are framed with a narrower pencil tile, Carrara ‘Somerset’. Solid Carrara pieces line the top, sides and bottom of the niche. The tile is from The Tile Shop. Shower tile: Ceramic 7.5 x 15 centimetre subway tiles Niche size: Each niche is 35.5 centimetres wide by 40.5 centimetres high. The bottom niche is 61 centimetres inches off the floor and is intended as a ledge for shaving.
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